Analysis of Hip Implants in Osteoporotic Patients Using the Finite Element Method for Optimal Selection Among Commercially Available Implants

Abstract

The hip joint is one of the primary joints that provides stability to the human skeletal system. Due to aging and wear between joints, this joint often needs to be replaced with an implant that mimics the function of the natural joint. Cobalt-chromium alloy, titanium alloy, and stainless steel are the most commonly used materials in hip implants. The design of the hip joint implant is of particular importance to prevent revision surgery due to loosening. There are numerous options regarding the shape of the implant and the materials used in the implant stem, making the decision process for selecting the appropriate shape and material more challenging. In this study, six implant stem designs were considered, and finite element analysis was performed on these six models. The human bone was modeled using Mimics software, and the selected implants were designed using SolidWorks. Static analysis was conducted in Abaqus to determine the optimal design. Two loading conditions were examined in this study. Under a 2300 N loading condition, implant model 1—with a von Mises stress of 344.47 MPa for healthy patients and 85.73 MPa for osteoporotic patients—can be considered a suitable choice. Under loading conditions including muscle forces and joint reaction forces, implant model 1—with a stress of 210.50 MPa for healthy bone and 209.50 MPa for osteoporotic bone—can also be considered a suitable option.

Seyed Sadjad Abedi-Shahri

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

My research interests include Numerical Methods in Biomechanics, Scientific Computation, and Computational Geometry.